Lack of courage let Holland down, says Van Marwijk

Van Marwijk blamed his wingers for a lack of supply to Van Persie, the strikerJulian Finney/Getty Images

Bert van Marwijk, the Holland coach, rued a lack of “courage and initiative” by his defence and midfield, which left space for Germany to exploit last night.

Two goals from Mario Gómez gave Germany a 2-0 lead before Robin van Persie, the Arsenal and Holland forward, cut the deficit in the 73rd minute with his team’s first goal of the tournament.

“We lost against a very good team and if you want to beat this Germany, you have to be on top as a team and as players. We weren’t today as several players are not really in shape,” Van Marwijk said. “We are disappointed of course that we lost. We started quite well and that is how we wanted to play. The goal from…